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What does a former CEO of a private in-airport yoga company with a master’s degree in forensic psychology have in common with a sports and entertainment industry veteran with an MBA in marketing and strategy?
A shared passion for wellness and travel.
Meet Avery Westlund and Katharine Sharpstone, two female entrepreneurs running the global retreat-planning company Trip Tribe Wellness. Founded in 2015, Trip Tribe Wellness curates custom wellness retreats around the world while providing white-glove planning services to both individual trip leaders and corporations.
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Having once been a client leading retreats with Trip Tribe’s help, Westlund experienced firsthand the benefits offered by Trip Tribe. “I actually had the idea to found my previous business, Yoga on the Fly®, while leading a Trip Tribe retreat in Nicaragua. Having already built a wellness travel company from concept to fruition, it was a natural fit to join another company that blends my affinity for wellness, travel, and growing a business. I loved the fact that Trip Tribe Wellness handled the logistical execution of my retreats so that I was able to focus wholly on the experience of my guests. Trip Tribe Wellness took the heavy lifting off of me as the trip leader and eventually I had to join the business full-time.”
Westlund started practicing yoga and meditation in her teens to help heal years of stress and physical breakdown from elite gymnastics and later, soccer and rowing. MA, ERYT200, ERYT500 certified and trained in anatomy, Westlund has led classes and workshops for professional athletes, anxiety and depression sufferers, veterans, and studio clients for more than a decade while living abroad throughout Europe, Central and North America, and Asia.
As we have all learned, post-pandemic wellness continues to be more important than ever today. A 2021 Indeed Study showed that employee burnout was at an all-time high with over half (52%) of survey respondents indicating they had experienced burnout in 2021. Therefore, prioritizing one’s health and wellness has never been more important. Trip Tribe Wellness has seen huge growth firsthand as wellness leaders continue to sign up en mass to lead their own private retreats both domestically and internationally.
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In addition, Westlund has been a great fit working together with Sharpstone to lead this growth. Sharpstone found an escape by taking fitness classes including yoga, pilates, kickboxing, and spin while living and working in New York City. Katharine managed intense large-scale client events for major companies throughout the United States while working at Creative Artists Agency before attending business school. Sharpstone’s focus on both the trip leader and overall guest experience has been crucial to Trip Tribe Wellness’s success.
“What drew me to Trip Tribe Wellness was my true belief in its core product and my ability to drive and influence business decisions from day one. Avery and I bring unique and different perspectives and skill sets from our past experiences that truly complement each other. Our goal is to make wellness travel easy and hassle-free for trip leaders and guests alike, and we are able to accomplish this by leaning on each other’s strengths and backgrounds” says Sharpstone.
The two have worked well together providing incredible growth in the business as more and more people look to take better care of themselves while having the freedom to travel again to experience beautiful destinations.
For a list of Trip Tribe Wellness’s upcoming retreats or to see how you can lead your own retreat check out triptribe.com
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